You've heard the story about the 'Catholic terrorist' Guido Fawkes and the English parliament. You know what they did to him when he was ratted out by informers. And unless you've been living under a rock these past years, you've heard about V for Vendetta, the Wachowski siblings' movie adaptation of Alan Moore's comic book icon. Even if you haven't watched it yet, then you've almost certainly seen the lead character V's legacy in footage and images from demonstrations across the planet's capital cities in recent years:

I don't think it's an overstatement to say that this revolutionary movie has inspired a generation to 'rise up'. It has certainly been a fitting prop! Britons traditionally celebrate today with a bonfire in commemoration of Fawkes's death and continuity of the status quo. What most don't realise is that they are celebrating a crime by the elite against the people.

After Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603, English Catholics who had had a rough time under her reign had hoped that her successor, James I, would be more tolerant of their religion. Alas, he was not, and this angered a number of young men who decided that violent action was the answer.

One young man in particular, Robert Catesby suggested to some close friends that the thing to do was to blow up the Houses of Parliament. In doing so, they would kill the King, maybe even the Prince of Wales, and the Members of Parliament who were making life difficult for the Catholics.

To carry out their plan, the conspirators got hold of 36 barrels of gunpowder - and stored it in a cellar, just under the House of Lords.

But as the group worked on the plot, it became clear that some innocent people would be hurt or killed in the attack. Some of the plotters started having second thoughts. One of the group members even sent an anonymous letter warning his friend, Lord Monteagle, to stay away from the Parliament on November 5th.

The warning letter reached the King, and the King's forces made plans to stop the conspirators. Guy Fawkes, who was in the cellar of the parliament with the 36 barrels of gunpowder when the authorities stormed it in the early hours of November 5th, was caught, tortured and executed. [...]

The story of the Gunpowder Plot is an interesting one. It is generally accepted that it would have been unlikely that the conspirators could gather 36 barrels of gunpowder and store them in a cellar under the house of Lords without the security forces of the day getting suspicious. Furthermore, there is serious doubt about whether the letter mentioned above was in fact genuine. In fact, it is believed today to have been fabricated by the King's officials. Historians suggest that the letter was simply a tool for the King's officials who already knew about the plot from the very mouth of one of the plotters.

As a tool for the king's men, the letter was ideal. It made it easy to explain how the King found out about the Plot and stopped it just in time before his untimely death. At the same time, the letter was vague enough to give the officials all the latitude they wanted in falsifying confessions and to pursue their own anti-Catholic ends. In fact, we could go further and suggest that the entire plot was a set-up, a 17th-century 'false-flag', if you will.

So while the British today misguidedly celebrate the execution of a man whose main aim was to liberate them from injustice, the mask that has come to represent that man via the movie V for Vendetta is today a symbol of that same desire to liberate the ordinary citizen from the grinding, relentless death machine that is civilization in the modern age.

Our modern-day elite would have us believe that ours is the Age of Peace, where only a few outposts of recalcitrant barbarians remain (Russia, Syria, Iran, North Korea and the like), refusing to join us on our forward march towards ever greater feats of civilization, instead seeking to impose a violent global caliphate of some Islamo-communist persuasion or other, defiant to the bitter end. 'Why do they hate us?' our Great Leaders wail. 'Why do they resist our benevolent overtures? Look at our overwhelming military superiority, our unparalleled feats of technological innovation and the extraordinary generosity we extend to those less fortunate than us.'

"The people should not be afraid of their government. The government should be afraid of their people."

~ V

All the while, their most ardent believers and Authoritarian Followers beat us over the head with police batons, grope us at airports, strip search us for the pleasure of humiliating us, taser us because they can, cheat us through Austerity Measures, send us off to fight their wars, tick names off kill lists with the help of Predator drones and bomb countries from 40,000 feet in an effort to 'free' them. We live in a global empire that has so successfully disguised its true function - to cultivate and harness human suffering for the benefit of its elite class - that most are totally oblivious to the source of their suffering: the calculated maneuvers of psychopaths in power. A few thousand or so Adam Sutlers and Peter Creedys - vile card-carrying members of 'The Party' by virtue of being psychopaths of various shades - is all it has taken to bring this planet to the edge of oblivion.

Mr. Creedy: Die! Die! Die! Why won't you die? Why won't you die?

V: Beneath this mask is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy. And ideas are bulletproof.

On this day we remember the tyranny of history and in doing so we remember the tyranny surrounding us today. We remember the slaughtered innocents, the crushed rebellions, the wars for profit. We remember Gaddafi's Green Resistance in Libya, whose efforts to lift his people out of persistent poverty instead of allow Western corporations to exploit their resources were considered far too dangerous for a continent that exists only to be exploited by 'The Party'. We remember the thousands of victims of Western-backed terrorists in Syria, whose horrific deaths have been pinned on the one man normal Syrians look to for protecting them from marauding death-squads armed, trained and funded by a cabal of warmongers in the US, UK, France, Israel, the Gulf monarchies and elsewhere.

"How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense."

~ V

We remember the countless millions of victims of the CIA and other death-dealers of 'The Party', kidnapped off streets everywhere in broad daylight and disappeared in black bags. We remember ourselves, the billions serving indefinite terms of indentured slavery under an economic system that will discard us like a used battery when it's done with us. We remember the billion-plus people on Earth starving needlessly right now because the few at the top have decided they are 'useless eaters'.

We remember the victims of false-flag terrorist attacks like 9/11. Ancient history to some, let's not forget that this, the single most traumatic televised event in the modern era, was the catalyst for this dystopian future we are creating for ourselves. We remember that at the heart of the spider's web banking system is the lie that we must work for money and money not work for us.

We remember because we choose not to forget. We choose not to forget because no man or woman is an island, no matter how hard 'The Party' tries to convince us to see the world through its eyes.

Global revolution begins with you

Will protest change anything? En masse, perhaps, but even the large crowds we've seen in capitals across the world in recent years are nothing 'The Party's' security forces can't handle. You want to 'protest peacefully', but they want to turn the protests, and you, violent because then they have you where they want you. Revolutions have generally been bloody affairs, where the currents of hunger resulting from sudden increases in food prices, rising unemployment and environmental calamity meet and boil over into unrestrained violence against brothers and sisters.

"What usually happens when people without guns stand up to people with guns?"

~ Inspector Finch in V for Vendetta

We know voting doesn't change anything because the outcomes are either predetermined or they're insufficient to affect change: 'The Party' always wins. Vote for Brexit and the EU remains intact, possibly with the UK still in it, and certainly remains a key outpost in the 'eastern half' of the 'Atlantic Alliance'. Vote for Trump or a third-party candidate and the US government (the real, 'continuity' government) remains intact, and becomes possibly even more malignant than it was before.

We can't fight fire with fire by storming parliament because history (some of it very recent; Euromaidan, for example) tells us that that won't do anything other than introduce a new regime that skilfully usurps the revolutionary energies.

But what if we can use those energies for something else; to work on ourselves, to overcome our fears by facing them head on, day to day? What is the one thing that is on your to-do list today that you are reluctant to do, that you keep putting off because you believe the lies you tell yourself about how 'I can't'?

No matter how mundane it is, or seems to be, accomplishing that one thing you are putting off because you won't confront your fears, then the next thing, and the next, and so on, is the most truly revolutionary thing you can do for yourself and others.

So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of 'The Party' remain unknown to you then I would suggest you allow this Fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to watch V for Vendetta, take a good look at what is happening the world over, then step up and do your part to creatively channel the energies being unleashed in these dark and interesting times.

Niall Bradley has a background in political science and media consulting, and has been an editor and contributing writer at SOTT.net for 8 years. His articles are cross-posted on his personal blog, NiallBradley.net. Niall is co-host of the 'Behind the Headlines' radio show on the Sott Radio Network and co-authored Manufactured Terror: The Boston Marathon Bombings, Sandy Hook, Aurora Shooting and Other False-Flag Terror Attacks with Joe Quinn.

Thanks Niall and SOTT for an article reminding us that our "history" as we understand it has been managed by the elite for a very long time. Today, with a constant assault on our senses from the Corporate Media, the illusion is being marketed with more force than was possible in the past. Each of us may contribute to the breaking of the illusion by taking our one small link out of the chain.

It's amazing how easily history can be distorted to suit the victors and how easy it is to fool the masses.

What's even more amazing is how easy it can be to learn the reality of what actually occurred. If one has but the eyes to see and the heart to realize that The Party couldn't care less about everyday human suffering and subjugation.

I have this particular argument with people all the time, the argument that the government doesn't care about its people any further than how we can be milked and cajoled into mindless drones of the government state.

The North Dakota protests are a great example of how we can fight this corruption. The government is spread very thin right now, hence why they react so violently to protests and public gatherings.

Once the people truly realize that we can just outwait them in peaceful occupational protest, then we will realize the power we have in passive resistance.

The final scenes in V for Vendetta display this concept of passive resistance very well with the army of citizens in Guy Fawkes masks descending on Parliament.

How can a government that relies so heavily on keeping up appearances fight that type of enemy without showing themselves for what they truly are?

Oh yes, absolutely. Reminds me of some other things that have come up for me quite lately. How to make something positive out of something negative and Newton's Third law: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction (?)

It seems to me that in troubling and disturbing times, that only people who remember this will stand a chance of transforming all this negative energy into something positive. Or at least, stand a chance at avoiding something nasty.

History has proven that a determined minority can defeat the nmost powerful enemy and has, about 40% of the time. Read up on the 'Winter War' ofn1939 where a handful of Finns on snow skis defeated thenentire Soviet Army, the strongest army in the world at the time, or in the top three. It's a truism that only 3-5% of the population can effect total eradication of any government. The masses are not needed. Are you going to fish or cut bait? Anything short of determined armed confrontation is magical thinking and a pipedream.

You asked; "Will protest change anything?" I've never felt protesting does anything. We need only look to the Nazified Police in the Dakota's to know that protesting is pointless. It isn't our government nor our police any longer, it's theirs, the .01%. Buckminster Fuller said; The end move in politics is always to pick up a gun." While Chairman Mao said; "Political power issues forth from the muzzle of a gun barrel." Standing Rock and all those before are the absolute proof that the politics has been sham show. Where's the leadership now? Not a peep out of these creeps.

So at this point the loss is so great that direct confrontation, though winnable, isn't necessary. Another path exists. Your article is timely, it's much needed, and the 5th of November is a perfect date to co-opt to remember the tyranny which surrounds us.

"Don't waste time fighting the System, Invent a new one;" said Buckminster Fulller, and we have, it's bitcoins and other crytocurrency, it's insisting on payment in silver and gold bullion, it's trading, bartering, and doing all you can to not participate in the entrapment scheme.

Inspiring article. I especially liked this "We live in a global empire that has so successfully disguised its true function - to cultivate and harness human suffering for the benefit of its elite class"

Niall, a truly inspiring essay, and totally agree with the point you brought you can't put an end to violence with violence, in order to hope for some change to the better in the future you have to start changing yourself first and help others to do the same.

Unity along the priority scale of values is far lower than say, truth and integrity. The reality is that unity, superceding truth for example is the foundation of how we currently build and reinforce governments. By we, I mean, we partake in it, so we are not really distinguished from it. That's why a revolution is pointless, when nothing of substance has changed in us as individuals. That's because we'll build and reinforce a similar way of governing, and if the value of a means-to-an-end becomes a priority, as it often does with revolts, then we'll likely be feeding a far more evil beast. Many of the people who seek to revolt are also driven by inner resentment and bitterness, and so are happy to include violence if they might only feel justified to do so by others accepting it as "good". V for Vendatta, what does it mean? Apparently "victory" but in actual fact the undercurrent of the movie for me comes across as advocating violence. Maybe it's more so violence for vendetta or vengeance? The result indicates that when the antifa mob also find inspiration from the movie.

I proposed the rehabilitation of Guy Fawkes many years ago as, firstly, the last of the Stuarts died two centuries ago and secondly, as this author says if the true be known, Guy was quite likely merely exercising his right to free speech.

It would be a shame to let a holiday that is so popular with young people go to waste so my proposal was to continue the fireworks and bonfires on 5th November but re-dedicate the event to the memory of the evil Edmund Burke and perhaps Jeremy Bentham, two people whose teachings conditioned Englishmen to surrender their rights to preserve whatever was left.

I have come to realize that money is surely a measure of a person's influence over the world around them.

Whether it be to buy mansions, islands, cars, corporations, drugs whatever the choice may be; every elite has a different agenda.

To lump every millionare/billionare into a group of puppet-masters seems a bit naive to me personally.

Everyone has the choice on what to use their money for. The average american pays a rent/mortgage, buys groceries and some meager consumer items to stimulate their brain.

The rich and powerful choose whether to build a company and employ others, consume large assets themselves to strengthen their wealth, pay for wars and regime changes, donate to philanthropic causes, create large corporations to better technology; the list goes on.

People each have a different definition of freedom.

The rich may say, "i want the freedom to make the money as I please, with minimal government restriction, so that I may live comfortably while donating to good causes." (Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet)

The rich may say, "I just want to own islands and mansions."

The rich may say, "I want to use my money to influence world-wide politics. fund wars. run drug cartels. keep the citizenry in line as my servants" (Clinton, Fidel Castro, Putin, El Chapo)

The poor may say "I want a fair redistribution of wealth, so that I can afford basic necessities for me and my family, plus a bit more" (and thus believe that the government should act to redistribute capital through taxation-->>social programs)

The poor may say "I want the greedy elites to hire me"

The poor may say "Money is the root of all evil"

All in all, capital is the token of servitude. It flows through society via complex systems like, employers paying for labor, investors cashing in on interest payed by the consumers, drug kingpins poisoning society, Bad Pharma, ===> endless list.

The way we define freedom is open to interpretation when the world runs off of currency, and each individual person caters to their own interests with the money they recieve/earn/steal.